in·sur·gent (n-sûrjnt)
adj.
One who acts contrary to the established leadership (as of a political party, union, or corporation) or its decisions and policies

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

The Beacon On The Hill

If America is the shining beacon on the hill, an example to be emulated by the rest of the world, the light of that beacon must shine the brightest from Las Vegas -- a city that exemplifies everything that America is and is becoming.

A city of bright lights, prostitution, gambling and enormous buffets, Las Vegas is the ultimate playground for adults. It is a place where men flock to strip clubs and brothels, women wear the sluttiest outfits in their closets in the hope of receiving attention from a broader spectrum of horny males and morbidly obese people indulge themselves on $9.99 all-you-can eat buffets. It is the center of the universe for all those chasing the pipe dream of hitting the jackpot.

Behind all the blinking lights and ringing slot machines, however, it is an incredibly sad and depressing city. Las Vegas does not sustain $300-per-night hotels on the miles-long strip with winners - the town thrives and survives on losers. Loser men who chase fleeting feelings of manhood through strippers and prostitutes; women whose bodies are worth more than their humanity; pathetic senior citizens gambling their social security checks in the hopes of experiencing some excitement in the twilight hours of their lives (Harrahs was the first casino to stop cashing welfare checks). The blinking lights add excitement to their otherwise empty existence.

Las Vegas is Super Sized America. The enormous football field buffet, hotels that give you new towels each day, all the alcohol you can drink as long as you obediently pay homage to the slot machine god, massive electricity use, never-ending construction in a town that has to buy water from neighboring states and there is no recycling program in place.

When foreigners turn their heads toward the beacon on the hill, they will see the light shining from the top of the Luxor pyramid.

And that light emanates from the city that symbolizes the cancer that consumes the American body politic. Left untreated, the cancer will obliterate the desert, the water, and left in its wake will remain nothing more than hollow bodies that once housed souls (one only need to travel to Atlantic City to see a place ravaged by the cancer).

The brightness of the beacon on the hill blinds its viewers from the darkness that dominates the landscape.

5 Comments:

I disagree. I like Vegas because it is like South Beach--you come for the express purpose of having fun. Everybody knows the deal. Fun comes in many forms, including strip clubs, gambling, etc. There is nothing wrong with having fun, even naughty fun. I'd rather have men sleep with prostitutes in regulated hotels, with condoms, than bareback in the back seat of a Buick.

Moreover, Vegas is not a terrible city outside the Strip. In fact, it's growing by 6,000 people per month (fastest growing City in America). Businesses, especially minority-owned businesses are growing very quickly. I like it there because there is no "old guard." Everyone is new and on seemingly equal footing.

And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone, and it gave his awards - Purple Heart, Bronze Star - showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death, he was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the head stone, it didn't have a Christian cross. It didn't have a Star of David. It has a crescent and star of the Islamic faith.
And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was fourteen years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could serve his country and he gave his life.